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LinkedIn Stats: Questions Every Leader Should Ask

I was fortunate to be invited to a presentation led by Kaijie Ho, Regional Lead (SEA) at LinkedIn last week. There were many interesting stats on the recruitment market trends extracted from the powerful LinkedIn database. As I listened, I curated a few questions that may be helpful for leaders as they navigate in an increasingly complex environment:

The Fastest Growing Jobs are Non-Traditional

Most companies don’t know they need a skill until it is overpriced and exhausted. For example, the supply of Data Scientists has grown 15X in the last 5 years. This doesn’t mean that you need to have one in your organization today, but it is important to be keenly aware of the market trends and to consider its impact on the future. After all, there are cost advantages when the needed intelligence is acquired early on.

A Leader's Question:

Are the roles in our organization evolving? If not, what competitive advantages could we be missing out on?

Soft Skills increase in value with the rise of AI and Automation

92% of executives say that soft skill is equal or more important than technical skills.

BUT 89% say that it is difficult to find people with adequate soft skills.

A Leader's Question:

In an increasingly automated and global environment, does our organization have the level of people skills required to communicate, collaborate and engage?

 The most in-demand soft skills 2019 are Critical Thinking, Adaptability, Communication, Leadership and Creativity. 

Investing in Talent Development reduces Employee Turnover

94% of professionals are more likely to stay at a company that invest in their development. 

This should be obvious, but the talent development budget is often the first to go when an organization is looking for a trim back. Why? The targeted P&L line is easy to control but disengagement destroys quietly.

A Leader's Question:

How do we invest in the existing talent today to build our workforce of the future?
How do we engage our talent through development?

 Then there is this piece of data: Time is the #1 reason employees feel held back from learning. 

A Leader's Question:

How does our employees feel about the learning when they have to work overtime everytime they go for a training? What can we do about it?

It’s not only important to avail the training but to consider how you create a conducive environment for learning.

Creating a Learning Culture is an organizational strategy a leader commits to for a stronger, more sustainable business. Its success demands the vision of a highly aware leader. Beyond the awareness of self and others, the leader will need to understand how upcoming trends affect their ecosystem as they navigate their organizations into the future.

Thank you Kaijie Ho, Regional Lead (SEA), for some of these statistics and for coming all the way to host us in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

About the Author:

Coach Wendy Wong is passionate about helping talents optimize potential through building leadership skills.  

Start a leadership conversation with her today!